Stuntman Ignition tours the east coast
THQ’s Stuntman: Ignition is being showcased around Dublin and beyond before its launch this Friday.
The publisher kicked off its tour across a small part of Ireland
yesterday using the Stuntman Ignition Plymouth Roadrunner (pictured
above). It’ll have visited ten Xtra-vision stores by end or the
game’s release day.
Stuntman: Ignition is been demoed using Xbox 360, it’s also out on PlayStation 2 this weekend, and October 31 for PlayStation 3.
While they are just about finished today at Swords in Co Dublin, the
following are the outlets planned to be visited in the next three days:
Wedneday, August 29 - 10-12.00 noon at Xtra-vision, Wexford Town; and
3-5pm Xtra-vision, Wicklow Town; Thursday, August 30 - 10-12 noon at
Xtra-vision, Ninth Lock Road, Clondalkin; and 3-5pm at Xtra-vision,
Ashleaf SC, Crumlin; Friday, August 31 - 10-12 noon Xtra-vision, Beside
McDonalds Drive Thru, Blanchardstown, and 3-5pm at Xtra-vision, Seamus
Ennis Rd, Finglas.
Sony still dominates Irish games market
- Nintendo shows strength
- Xbox 360 outranks PS3
…But dwarfed by Sony
Independent numbers do not support Xbox 360 dominance in Ireland as figures released yesterday by Microsoft suggest.
The Chart-Track Irish games charts
released last week show that, for example, Xbox 360 sales of the
multiplatform ‘Transformers: The Game’ accounted for only 16
percent of the total sales on the top-20 multi-format chart.
Meanwhile the PlayStation 3 accounted for 6 percent less of sales of
the Transformers game at 10 percent; however, the rest of the sales
went to other Sony consoles, the PlayStation 2 (50 percent) and
PlayStation Portable (17 percent).
The game - at number one in those charts - entered the charts over
four weeks ago at number three, at that stage Xbox 360 sales were at 24
percent but since dropped to the above number.
Microsoft hold similar or lower percentages of multiplatform games
sales lower in the charts, and their console features less the Sony
brands. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 only features in five places of the top-20
multi-format chart, while Sony brands are in 12 different places.
Unlike the older PS2 that is still going strong with a massive Irish
install base, the first Xbox is a no-show.
Questionable numbers
“For the past year, Xbox 360 has been the number one console in
EMEA, having obtained more than 30 percent of the market in terms of
overall revenue (more than 45 percent in the UK, Ireland, Netherlands
and Sweden*),” reads a the Microsoft press release [NOTE: there is no
corresponding note following the '*' included].
However, if the examples outlined above are anywhere near close of
the true picture of the games market in Ireland, it shows that
Microsoft yesterday unfairly stated that they have 45 percent of the
market in terms of “overall revenue”. It’s unclear if Ireland is
incorrectly included among the UK, Netherlands and Sweden, or if the
company has an abnormal meaning of the term ‘overall revenue’.
Another possibility is that Microsoft are selectively calling
classing the ‘home’ market as the wider market while excluding portable
console which make up a large percentage of the actual games market.
Unlike its Japanese rivals Sony and Nintendo, the US-based company has
no handheld consoles.
This confusion mirrors Microsoft press release in March which gave
“record-breaking” United States specific numbers, but when we contacted
the company at the time a spokespersons said they “never release country specific figures”.
Nintendo with eight exclusives
Nintendo meanwhile have eight exclusives on the charts including
taking up places from two to six. If more comprehensive set of figures
were publicly available Nintendo could even come in second for overall
market share.
Nintendo looks to have gained since the launch of its low-priced Wii
console, added to this the handheld DS system has been a larger seller
in Ireland and continues to be such.
The particularly high Nintendo presence could be explained by the
low games release for the industry over summer months, however any
summer irregularity would not explain Microsoft’s low percentages which
are in line with our past reports on games sales in Ireland.
The future?
It still looks as if Microsoft has yet to capitalise on their head start launching the 360 before Christmas 2005, compared to the PlayStation 3 that only launched in March.
With the high cost of the new Sony console and a price drop for the
360, Microsoft could still convince many users of Sony’s older console
to switch over.
A lot depends on how long and to what extent Sony and third-parties
continue to support the PlayStation 2 while the PS3 slowly moves to
price drops and how fast can Sony build the new console’s catalogue of
titles.
Our independent source
The Chart-Track Irish chart is the only available independent source
of games point-of-sales information in Ireland. While it should be
noted that retailers GameStop and Smyths are not included, the chart
firm’s website lists a large selection of retailer such as Argos,
Play.com, Currys, Roxy Records, Dixons, Tesco, Game, Tower, Golden
Discs, Virgin, Heartbeat City, Xtra-vision, Heatons, Zhivago, HMV, PC
World, and other unnamed independent retails. Chart-Track also compile
the Irish music charts and the UK games charts.
Xbox 360 price drop for Ireland
- Xbox 360 Elite launches Friday
- 360 remains
REVIEW: Scarface: The World if Yours
Upon its initial release
Scarface: The World is Yours was written off as just another GTA imitator. It’s
success had more to do with the popularity of the film than the game its self,
which was a pity as the gameplay was actually quiet fun. Like the character,
the game has been given a new leash of life on the Wii, and thanks to the
unique interactivity offered by the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, this version of
Tony Montana’s odysseys is even better.
The story was written by
screenwriter David McKenna, who wrote Blow and Bully. (No, not the infamous
Rockstar game but rather the infamous Larry Clark film of the same name.) Tony
Montana survived the massacre at his mansion, and has spent the past several
months living in a shack dead to the world. From here he has been planning his
both his revenge and how he will rebuild his empire. To do this you have to take
on an assortment of small time hustlers and work his way up the food chain.
The most important question
regarding the game is,”how does it play on the Wii?” The answer is,
surprisingly well. The game kicks off with the obligatory tutorial and like
most Wii games the control system takes a bit of getting used to, but like
Resident Evil 4 on the console the Wii control system is far superior to any of
the games of other incarnations on the various consoles.
One of the most enjoyable
aspects of the game is also the most childish. The ability to taunt enemies is
not just a matter of tilting the nunchuk instead of frantically bashing buttons
as you try to avoid being shot. Utilising the chainsaw is also far more
satisfying.
Like many ports the flaws
are still present. If a fight ends up on the street then you may as well just
accept defeat and allow yourself to be killed, as you’re never going to out run
the cops. This small drawback is quiet possibly one of the most annoying game
features in the history of video gaming.
Scarface: The World is Yours is a fine port and one of the few that improves
upon the original. The improved graphics and tailored control system makes Scarface
a game which should best be experienced on the Wii. Those who disliked the game
on its initial release are advised to give it a second chance.
World Cyber Games Irish finals still open
- Irish finals open without attending 
- Must register on lanparty.ie and then on page sign up
- Two Dublin regional qualifiers in the next weeks
Registration for the Irish finals of the World Cyber Games is still
open, and is open to everyone not just those who competed in the
regional heats.
Gamers wishing to play in the finals must register at lanparty.ie, and also then sign up to the event on the ‘WCG Irish Finals‘ page.
Games to be played are Counter Strike 1.6 on PC with a team of five,
Project Gotham Racing 3 on Xbox, and FIFA 07 on PC.
Tickets cost
Irish gamer to feature in Tiger Woods game
An Irish gamer is to feature in EA’s latest Tiger Woods golf
computer game, the gamer won a phone-in competition on radio station
2FM last September.
The likeness of Stephen Brown, from Birr in Co Offaly, is to appear — above is a screenshot of Brown in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08.
He also got to meet and play against Tiger Woods (pictured below) in
an EA Sports event ‘You vs Tiger’ at Leicester Square in London.
The promotion was in part to promote ‘Photo Game Face’, a new
feature in the golf game that allows players to up load their images
into the game by just adding normal photographs.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 is set to be released next month for the
PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and PC, as well as on handheld
systems the DS and PSP.
